Luanda Leaks expose role of financial secrecy and western professionals in moving tainted money

20 January
2020, London – New
revelations about how Isobel dos Santos, daughter of the former Angolan
President, amassed her fortune allegedly at the expense of the Angolan state,
once again reveal a global system of financial secrecy complicit in her schemes,
according to the anti-corruption NGO Global Witness.

“The
Luanda Leaks” reveal
new evidence of a network of 400 companies, many of which are based in offshore
tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands, which were used by Isobel dos
Santos to become Africa’s richest woman, while millions of Angolans live in
extreme poverty. The leaks also reveal new details about the lawyers,
accountants and other “professional enablers” in Western
states that helped dos Santos with these transactions, raising concerns that
several of these institutions did not carry out adequate due diligence on the
source of dos Santos’s wealth.

As the daughter of Angola’s former
President, dos Santos qualifies as a ‘Politically Exposed Person’ (PEP) meaning
that in the EU, banks, accountancy firms and lawyers are all required to
conduct a risk assessment of the source of her wealth to see if it raises red
flags for corruption.

Money routed through dos Santos’s network
was apparently used to purchase three properties in London, worth an estimated
£24 million, as well as properties elsewhere, high-end artwork and luxury goods
such as a superyacht.

For the full ICIJ evidence and
reaction from Isobel dos Santos visit
here.

Mark
Hays, Campaign Leader at Global Witness, said:

“Isobel dos Santos was able to become Africa’s
richest woman by exploiting her political connections to profit from
Angola’s natural resource wealth, while
millions of Angolans live in extreme poverty. Dos Santos did this with the help
and support of professional bankers, lawyers, accountants and estate agents in the
west, who at best turned a blind eye and at worst are complicit in her schemes.”

“The Luanda Leaks are the latest in a long line of
scandals to gather worldwide attention, but politicians and authorities
still have not acted to properly
prevent these abuses of the global financial system. In too many places, such as the British Overseas
Territories, it is still too easy to set up anonymous companies, pump them with
suspicious wealth and then use those companies to buy expensive properties and
other luxury items.”

The UK Government recently announced
it would finally reveal the real owners of overseas companies buying UK
properties through a public register, while in 2018 the UK parliament
passed legislation requiring companies set up in the British Overseas
Territories to also reveal their real owners.

Mark Hays
said:

“This case shows how important it is that the UK
doesn’t drag its heels over its commitments to end anonymous company ownership in
its Overseas Territories and for property at home. At the same time, we must
get tougher on professionals who fail to flag up suspicious wealth - turning a
blind eye is being complicit.”

“As the UK hosts its African Investment Summit
today in London, looking for new post-Brexit investment, the Government should
ensure it uses this opportunity to address illicit financial flows. Britain
leaving the EU must not become a reason to row back on commitments to tackle
dirty money.”